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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25430764">The Kid’s Alright</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrickySleeves/pseuds/TrickySleeves'>TrickySleeves</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Babysitting, F/M, Felileth Week (Fire Emblem), Hiking, alternate game medley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:21:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,441</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25430764</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrickySleeves/pseuds/TrickySleeves</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>“Okay, Kid,” Felix said, turning to the red-haired boy. “Take this sharp sword and run this gauntlet to prove yourself.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“The fewer burn marks on your clothes from jumping through flaming hoops, the more ice cream you get tonight,” Byleth offered, ever the motivator.</em>
</p><p>Babysitting with auntie and uncle Felileth.</p><p>  <strong>Felileth Week - Day 4</strong></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Felix Hugo Fraldarius/My Unit | Byleth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Kid’s Alright</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Byleth and Felix lived in the middle of nowhere, which made them inconvenient babysitters. And that’s the way they liked it.</p><p>Their credentials were untried, and they had no references. But Byleth had once been a teacher, so how bad could she be? And Felix, he… well… he was… well, at least Byleth would be there.</p><p>When Ingrid asked if them to watch The Kid for a long weekend while she and Sylvain traveled on estate business, Byleth had shrugged and said, “Sure, he can play in the gauntlet.”</p><p>“The gauntlet?” Ingrid’s eyebrows narrowed falcon-like over her eyes.</p><p>“It’s a training course we developed outside our cabin. I’m sure he’ll find it fun.”</p><p>“I suppose a little training shouldn’t be a problem.”</p><p>Byleth nodded inscrutably.</p><p>Sylvain and Ingrid dropped The Kid off with Aunt Byleth and Uncle Felix.</p><p>Felix looked him up and down. The Kid had long wavy crimson hair that Felix thought would look best presented in a high bun. He had Ingrid’s clear blue eyes and lithe muscle tone. He didn’t look particularly scared of them, and that was promising.</p><p>“Make sure JR does his homework before playing games.” Ingrid handed Byleth a heavy bag full of The Kid’s things. Byleth started hefting and tossing it like a training weight.</p><p>“And don’t try feeding him ice cream after 10pm, turns him into a monster,” Sylvain added, halfway back to his horse already.</p><p><em>Tch</em>, Felix said, “As if we keep sweets in the house.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, Kid,” Byleth crouched down to look him over. “I keep a secret stash.” The ice cream in the ice-box was made from wild blackberries flavored with hot serrano peppers—the choice of champions and those with an iron stomach.</p><p>Once Ingrid and Sylvain had left, Byleth and Felix led The Kid behind their cabin, both of them giddy to present their outdoor recreation course like it was a state of the art jungle gym.</p><p>“This is the gauntlet.”</p><p>The Kid stood between Byleth and Felix, surveying an ant farm of paths leading from different hand-made trailheads.</p><p>The gauntlet’s shortest trail was two miles, its longest seventeen.</p><p>That longest one included a sneaky back-country detour through steep hills into valley swamps. Byleth and Felix had spent their last anniversary on this detour, and they decided it was too good not to make it part of the gauntlet.</p><p>They would start The Kid on the small trails; after all, they weren’t monsters. A little bouldering here, a little rope swinging there. The smaller trails were almost nurturing as long as you could make a meter jump between crevices without too much sweat.</p><p>“Points are docked if your sword is dull when you get back,” Felix said. “Try not to knock it against rocks.”</p><p>The Kid turned his terrified nougat-brown eyes on Byleth, who looked back at him with her own hauntingly vacant green peepers. She handed him some fireworks to shoot up in case he twisted his ankle.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Trailhead: Alpine Ridge and the High Caves</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>As they outfitted The Kid for the trail, they talked about him like he wasn’t there.</p><p>“He’s already tall. He can handle a decent length sword.” </p><p>“Good, I wasn’t looking forward making a new one.”</p><p>“The short sword then?” Felix asked, pulling it from the rack and testing its edge.</p><p>“As long as it’s not too long, we’re still being responsible,” Byleth said authoritatively.</p><p>“Okay, Kid,” Felix said, turning to the red-haired boy. “Take this sharp sword and run this gauntlet to prove yourself.”</p><p>“The fewer burn marks on your clothes from jumping through flaming hoops, the more ice cream you get tonight,” Byleth offered, ever the motivator.</p><p>The Kid looked from Byleth to Felix as his mouth dropped open. So much of Sylvain in him. </p><p>Boulders, crags, and cliffs spread before him in a ridge that looked like the spines of a dragon’s back.</p><p>“I don’t know that I can do this,” he said, lifting the sword dubiously. Felix moved forward to correct his grip.</p><p>“Just pretend that you’re a tiny dragon that can soar around. All the other adult dragons are so irresponsible that they sent you on this important quest. Maybe you don’t know what you’re doing, but you just have to do it.”</p><p>Byleth grinned at him in that way she had practiced in the mirror: a warm, nurturing baring of her fangs.</p><p><em>It was a very relatable narrative</em>, The Kid thought as he looked between Aunt Byleth and Uncle Felix. <em>Right down to the irresponsible dragon adults.</em></p><p>The Alpine Ridge trail was the hardest thing The Kid had ever done. He singed his red eyebrows on a flaming trap that he just barely ducked under. His legs were wobbly from hopping between boulders. His core ached from stabilizing himself while balancing across the ridge.</p><p>By the time he got up to the high caves, the grasses around him were locked into permafrost. Ice on the trail sent him slipping and sliding from one switchback to another. Every other meter was a conscious effort of panning his legs in and out as if he was back-county skiing.</p><p>Aunt Byleth and Uncle Felix were insane. Did they really think he could fly like a dragon?</p><p>The Kid made it back to the cabin that night with every muscle in his body smarting. He wasn’t born yesterday. Even he knew it would be worse—much worse—in the morning.</p><p>His shoes were covered in mud and snow that could be cut like a layer-cake. He could barely lift his swordarm after carrying it all day. There were three singe-holes in his shirt alone. His eyebrows looked like a three-year-old had attacked him with a charcoal pencil while he was sleeping.</p><p>“How was it?” Byleth asked.</p><p>Felix mercifully took the sword from him and rested it in the sword rack that lined the cabin entrance beside the shoe rack and coat tree.</p><p>“It wasn’t bad,” The Kid said through chattering teeth.</p><p>“Good,” Felix said, as Byleth led The Kid to a seat at the kitchen table and put a bowl of meat stew in front of him.</p><p>The stew was so spicy The Kid immediately sprouted sweat across his forehead. With the next bite his eyes were watering. He mopped his face with a grimy sleeve.</p><p>“This looks appetizing,” Felix said.</p><p>Byleth began stuffing her face.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Trailhead: Tabantha Frontier</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Felix and Byleth took The Kid up to the high lookout above the Tabantha Frontier. Byleth carried a small bow on her back and a little quiver full of arrows. Felix carried an accordion.</p><p>After 1500-ft of elevation gain, they found a broad cliff that offered a great vista of other ridge-tops and plateaus. Byleth beckoned The Kid over to a spot marked by a cairn of rocks. She pointed outward to where a red circle dotted the flat space of one of the ridges.</p><p>“Do you see that target on the ground over there?”</p><p>The Kid nodded, squinting his eyes into the wind.</p><p>“Okay, take this bow and these arrow.”</p><p>“That target has to be ten kilometers away.” The Kid’s voice was a 50%/50% combination of Sylvain’s petulance and Ingrid’s practicality. Even Felix’s lips ticked upward to hear it.</p><p>Byleth nodded, pleased by his spatial reasoning. “Exactly. I want you to shoot an arrow at exactly the perfect angle that it comes back down and hits that target.”</p><p>“What if I run out of arrows?”</p><p>“You can go off and find them, or you can make some more.”</p><p>The Kid looked at her like she had sprouted horns. “Okay… okay, but can uncle Felix please stop playing the accordion. It’s driving me crazy.”</p><p>Turning to Felix, Byleth twitched her hand at her neck in a cut-it-out gesture. Grumpily, he fastened the ends of the accordion together with a crash of deflating sounds.</p><p>“This is going to take me a while, isn’t it?”</p><p>“That depends on your skill level, but I expect so. Here’s your hang-glider to get back down the mountain when you’re ready.”</p><p>“But I’ve never used a hang-glider before.”</p><p>“You hang and you glide. Very simple. Now I have to go get cooking. I promised your mom I’d feed you regular meals.” Byleth turned away to start the long journey back down the trail.</p><p>“Uncle Felix, are you staying?”</p><p>Felix shrugged and leaned against a tree. After another couple of minutes he pulled the accordion back out and began playing the same repetitive tune over and over again.</p><p>The sun was once high, and then it was sinking low. The Kid aimed upward into the sky and shot arrow after arrow. His arm ached; his eyes were sick of focusing. He dreamed of entering a fugue state of aiming and loosing arrows that would allow him to tune out Uncle Felix’s ceaseless accordion-playing.</p><p>Some arrows landed too close, a mere few landed too far. Just as The Kid was beginning to lose light and Felix was worried that he would never get it, one arrow landed right on the bullseye. Felix played a quick victory tune on the accordion before collapsing it.</p><p>The Kid smiled before dropping to the ground from exhaustion.</p><p>His uncle raised his eyebrows. “Impressive.”</p><p>“So the hang-glider?” The Kid asked.</p><p>“Just follow me down with it.”</p><p>“What if I don’t do it right?”</p><p>“It’s too late to hike. But there is one other way you can get down: Find a chicken, hold it above your head, and hope it flaps the whole way.”</p><p>“That works?”</p><p>Felix shrugged, “You’re small enough that it might.”</p><p>“I’ll take my chances with the hang-glider.”</p><p>When they reached the cabin, Byleth had already set the table with a large fish that she had caught while they were gone. In addition, she had some red meat set out as a side dish.</p><p>“Are there any vegetables?” The Kid asked, tucking in. “My mom says I should always eat at least some vegetables with every meal.”</p><p>Byleth and Felix looked at each other.</p><p>“<em>Tch</em>, vegetables?”</p><p>“If he wants some roughage, he can go out there and cut the grass.” Byleth turned to The Kid ready to offer some of her professional training advice: “Take the sword and twirl around really fast in a circle. Bring in whatever you find. Sometimes money comes out of the ground.”</p><p>“Yeah, that’s true. Rupees.” </p><p>“I think it’s pronounced rubies, dear.”</p><p>“No, they’re definitely rupees.”</p><p>“Just don’t hit the chickens,” she advised The Kid.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Trailhead: Safari Zone</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>On the third day, they took The Kid out to a large hedge maze that they called The Safari Zone.</p><p>“Find your way through the maze and be home before dinner. I’m making pie.”</p><p>“You’re both—you’re both leaving?” The Kid gulped, looking into the twists and turns of the maze.</p><p>“I have faith in you,” Byleth said. That morning Felix had shown The Kid how to put his hair up in a bun. In Byleth’s opinion, it went a long way toward making him look fiercer and more competent. “Remember those flares I gave you.”</p><p>The maze had tall grasses and short paths. Many things seemed to conspire under the cover of the tall grass. He heard growls and bird calls and strange screeches. At one point, a plant grew and moved in front of him, trying to wrap his ankle with its vines, but he was quick enough to sidestep it.</p><p>He witnessed great tentacles rising from a pond, and then those were replaced by huge, sail-like fins. A small mouse-looking pika crossed the path at a fast clip trailing little lightning balls that made The Kid shock himself no less than five times from the static electricity.</p><p>It didn’t take long to realize that the maze was full of hidden creatures. The Kid sent his prayers to the goddess that they remained hidden.</p><p>Finally, he could see the exit that connected to the main loop and would return him to his Aunt and Uncle’s cabin. Between himself and the Safari Zone exit was an orange dragon taller and wider than he was. The tip of its tail was flaming, and each time it opened its mouth, The Kid could see a spark.</p><p>The dragon opened its jaws and roared at him, sprouting flames into the air. The Kid wiped some sweat from his brow.</p><p>Summoning all his courage, he picked up a hefty rock from the ground, and threw it in the opposite direction of where he needed to go. The dragon looked that way, blinked its eyes, and lazily used wingbeats coupled with stomping to make its way in the direction of the distraction.</p><p>The Kid took his opportunity to run out of the maze, and he didn’t stop running until he reached the cabin. Almost keeling over, he began panting from exertion and relief.</p><p>“What happened to you?” Byleth asked, halting her sword exercises. “Felix get some water,” she called into the house.</p><p>“I—I thought I saw a dragon up there.”</p><p>“Felix, did you let the dragon out?”</p><p>“He was cramped inside that ball.” He handed The Kid a glass of water. <em>They were a well-oiled machine</em>, Felix was thinking. <em>They had this babysitting thing all under control</em>. “It’s a small dragon—needs a lot of experience before it evolves.”</p><p>“Well what animal did you choose?” Byleth asked The Kid.</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“If you pick up another magical animal along the way, you could use it to fight the dragon.”</p><p>“Pidgeons are surprisingly effective,” Felix offered.</p><p>“Or, like, a star fish,” Byleth said, preferring her own strategies.</p><p>“I picked up a rock and threw it.”</p><p>They looked at him blankly.</p><p>“Geodude.” Byleth said flatly, “Not your most strategic move—”</p><p>“—but it is resourceful,” Felix cut in.</p><p>Byleth nodded sagely.</p><p>The Kid lit up—they had called him resourceful.</p><p>When they sat at the table that night, he found a small bowl at his place setting full of leaves. Some were bitter dandelion greens, but Byleth has also managed to forage for soft spinach and even a few stalks of wild asparagus. She had squeezed lemon on top for dressing.</p><p>With a learned practice, the kid choked down his salad and smiled. His eyes watered slightly at Byleth who bared her teeth back at him with the corners of her mouth tipped up. The Kid was a good kid. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Trailhead: Sansretour Valley</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>They sent the kid down into the valley with a sword and a whole array of potions, decoctions, and dubious concoctions with uses they had long forgotten.</p><p>“Drink these when you’re in trouble,” Felix said, tossing little vials into the kid’s bag.</p><p>“What kind of trouble will I be in?”</p><p>“Nothing if you’re skilled and can manage to avoid it.”</p><p>“Okay Uncle Felix.” Felix felt soft. One side of his face was smiling at the boy.</p><p>“Watch out for bandits, don’t get in the way of horses, don’t pay too much for maps, and by all means, use some of the sword drills I taught you. Most importantly, stay on the road unless it’s to pick flowers.”</p><p>Even with the sun up, the valley was spooky and desolate, despite the verdant plants that bloomed on either side of the road. The Kid stayed on the road, just as Uncle Felix had told him to.</p><p>As the sky darkened, he spotted a creature moving quickly toward him. The closer the creature came, the more he could make out a slightly bent back, skin so pale he could see all its veins, and fangs curving down over the lips. Around the mouth was a crust of tomato juice, or was it blood?</p><p>One thing was for sure: this thing was bad news.</p><p>The Kid brandished his wooden sword at the monster, trying to remember the footwork that Uncle Felix had just taught him. The monster cackled at the display and began drawing nearer, as his mouth opened to reveal many many more fangs.</p><p>The boy reached into the bag and pulled out as many vials as he could get his hands around. He took a sip from each one.</p><p>All of a sudden he was feeling strong, buff, and hyped. He could stomp the ground and create earthquakes. There was lightning in his veins. Sure it would split him open and burn him out, but for the moment, he was powerful.</p><p>Dropping the wooden sword, he threw a punch at the humanoid monster. The impact of the blow was so forceful, shockwaves sent the monster reeling backward. The Boy stepped up and landed another punch, and the monster, wiping blood from its face, turned and ran with supernatural speed.</p><p>The Kid felt pretty good about himself. And then, he wasn’t feeling very good at all—not at all. The world began spinning around him, and he slumped to the ground and passed out there.</p><p>When The Kid came to, his blurry eyes found Uncle Felix standing near him keeping watch.</p><p>Felix had puss-peepers as golden as any and a cat-like grace that served as a warning to monsters and humans alike. Nothing in the valley messed with Felix unless it wanted to be skewered on one of his silver swords.</p><p>Felix knelt by The Kid and checked his vitals. He helped the boy to sit up.</p><p>“Don’t tell your mom about this or I’m dead,” Felix said.</p><p>The Kid was confused. His mom might be scary in her own way, but he was sure nothing could kill Uncle Felix. “I won’t,” he said.</p><p>“Good,” Felix steadied The Kid and limped him back to the cabin.</p><p>“What happened?” Byleth came outside to find them. She picked the kid up and slung him over her shoulder before depositing him at the kitchen table. “Why is he so pale?”</p><p>“I think it was a vampire.”</p><p>“Did it bite him?”</p><p>“No,” The Kid, said, speaking up, “It just made a lot of hissing sounds. Then I punched it.”</p><p>“You punched it,” Felix mumbled, looking at The Kid in awe.</p><p>“For a vampire you’re supposed to use the silver sword. Which sword did you use?”</p><p>“Uncle Felix only gave me a wooden sword...”</p><p>Byleth glared at Felix.</p><p>“But he punched it,” Felix reiterated.</p><p>“Yes definitely teach The Kid to punch vampires—that’s responsible.”</p><p>“Why did it work, then?” the boy asked, taking his uncle’s side.</p><p>“Vampires are vain.” Byleth said matter-of-factly. “He was probably so insulted that he ran away.”</p><p>“Watch out, though, they do harbor grudges.”</p><p>Byleth and Felix shared a sideways glance that sent chills up The Kid’s spine.</p><p>“Kid,” Byleth said, “Go out and shake some fruit down from the peach tree.”</p><p>She used a short sword to cut the peaches into a garnish for the peach sorbet she had made him.</p><p>The Kid was prepared for the worst. However, when he took a bite, the sorbet was nice. It was the sort of wild and unruly flavor he could never get at home from his own mom’s cooking. Each bite tasted a little different—tart and then sweet, earthy and then rich.</p><p>“It’s really good,” The Kid said.</p><p>Felix turned his nose up at the sweets and chewed on some digestive beef jerky.</p><p>Byleth only had eyes for the kid. Whether he was lying or not, no one had ever complimented her cooking before.</p><p>Later that night, while the kid slept like a log from exhaustion, Felix and Byleth took turns braiding each other’s hair to get ready for bed.</p><p>“The Kid’s alright,” Felix said, his arm supporting Byleth’s neck in bed.</p><p>“Yeah, I like him.”</p><p>“I hope he comes back.”</p><p>“Me too.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Trailhead: Back at the Cabin</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>On the morning of the fifth and last day with his Aunt and Uncle, the Kid came out of the spare room looking bruised and battered and ruffled and tired. He had never been so charming.</p><p>“Do I have to run the gauntlet today?” He asked Auntie Byleth.</p><p>“No, today we’re going to rest and relax from all that.”</p><p>Felix looked at her skeptically over a letter that he was reading.</p><p>“We’re going to do a little farming.”</p><p>“Farming?!”</p><p>“We want you to plant these turnips so you’ll have vegetables to eat the next time you come over.”</p><p>“Oh, okay.”</p><p>He fed the chickens. He gathered the eggs. He plowed a plot of land and upturned many earthworms. He planted seeds and watered them.</p><p>His hands were dry and cracked and bleeding, and one of them kept cramping up from the repetitive movements.</p><p>“Farming is worse than the gauntlet,” The Kid said when Byleth and Felix made him take a break.</p><p>Felix smiled triumphantly over The Kid’s head. The Kid was a keeper.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The first rule of Felileth House is: you do not talk about Felileth House.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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